Rocking out to Rock a Little….
 

Listening to RAL. I loved it when it came out and still do. Yes, it was a departure from her first two releases. She was very influenced by the 80’s craze (and drugs) but I loved and love it. Her voice….some of my favorite songs by her. It brings me back which I think that’s all Stevie wanted with her music.

A much more interesting album than BD for sure.

Yeah, that's why Bella Donna was #1, and RAL sold ONE QUARTER of what BD did.

Bella Donna is a great album but a lot of it had to do with timing. Stevie was very popular and coming off big radio hits like Rhiannon , Dreams, Gold Dust Woman and Sara ……the timing was just right.

I thought sales data were not important?

Touché! :lol:

They're not, but BD is a classic album. If I was on a desert island, and could only take 20 albums, BD would be on my list.

It most definitely is a classic album.

I guess classic means boring A F.

There's something so very satisfying to me, that "you" don't get it. :woohoo:

Jokes apart, it's the second time I read the word "classic" in The Ledge this week. Now what exactly does classic mean?

The way I use the term “ it’s the best of the best” from an artist that still stands the test of time. Bella Donna’s SDMHA and EO17 are still played daily on top 40 radio stations. Same with Rumours and Fleetwood Mac’ s 1975 album. “ Classics”

It is boring a f. Good one.

It's a masterpiece.

I guess there's no accounting for taste...

Somehow I agree, although obviously there is no exact definition of classic. Yes, to me Rumours and the 1975 are classic Mac albums. But then Tusk isn't. In fact, it was categorized as experimental. So it can’t be a classic Mac. But for some, it is also timeless. However there are timeless and experimental albums that are still played on the radio. I don't think Tusk is. So it is not a classic, is it?

However, most critics, magazines gave Tusk 4 or 5 out of 5 stars, or 9 out of 10 points. That to me makes the album a best of the best which coincides with my personal opinion :) .

Yes what I personally see as a “classic” may differ from what I believe is “defined” as a classic. Tusk is real good example.😎

Classic is defined as being original or traditional. For example when Coca Cola came out with NEW COKE in 1985 many protested and Coke went back to their original formula and called it Coca Cola Classic which the name stuck around for many years.
In the 1970s Classic Fleetwood Mac would often refer to the early years pre-Nicks. Today it refers to White album or Rumours. In Mick's book he recounts he wanted Mirage and Gypsy to be more "classic Fleetwood Mac." In regards to Nick's solo stuff, Bella Donna would be considered "classic". It was recorded without drum machines and is considered original or traditional with its recording and Nick's writing. RAL is definitely not classic in any regard. Most songs are not written by Stevie. Most songs are definitely not considered classic sounding.
RAL is an album Stevie does not seem proud of. She barely does any tracks from it in concert and was recorded during a horrible time in her life. Personally I think its one of the worst recorded albums of the entire 80s. Its incohesive full of programmed bass and drum machines. Her voice is horrible and fried. Anyone could have sung any of those songs. There are elements that show up where if a more "classic" approach was used could have made it a fairly good album. But Stevie had no interest in her music or career at this point and it showed. The woman who proclaimed she needed a solo career because she had an abundant of material suddenly had to be reduced to people writing songs for her. Because she did not care about her sound or music and partying was the most important thing, it really translates into the music. I was at my peak worship in 1985 and I remember thinking, we all waited 2 1/2 years for this? When your ace producer that made you a solo star walks out shows how bad things really were.